1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to safety belt buckles for passengers in vehicles such as automobiles, and more particularly to improved means for housing and facilitating the operation of the components of the buckle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Safety belt buckles have been developed in order to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents. Most of these buckles include, as major components, a housing connected to a seat belt or strap anchored to the vehicle body and a latching mechanism adapted to coact with the tongue of another seat belt similarly secured to the vehicle. One of the problems encountered with such buckles is the difficulty of inserting the tongue into the housing and removing it therefrom. The magnitude of the biasing force exerted on thelatching mechanism to prevent premature ejection of the tongue during collision conditions, provides for rough entry of the tongue upon insertion thereof into the housing and hinders the release effort, or force required to remove the tongue from the housing during normal operation of the vehicle. Another problem with such buckles is the relatively large size, weight and cost thereof. The present invention provides a means whereby the aforesaid problems are overcome.